It would appear the Bruins fell victim to a classic case of Post Fenway Winter Classic letdown

against the Rangers in New York on Monday, losing 3-2 when Chris Higgins scored his first goal at Madison Square Garden this season with 1:29 left in regulation. Despite a pair of goals in the waning minutes to tie the Rangers at two before Higgins’ game-winner, the Bruins did not show up for this game. Word on the street is that coach Claude Julien went all Elin Nordegren on the B’s troops following what he saw as a pathetic showing by the Bruins. Another disturbing stat: in the Bruins last nine road games, they were 0 for 29 on the power play. Tuukka Rask was in-goal, and while solid for the majority of the game, Higgins’ winning goal was one he would like to have back. The Bruins would have a chance just 24 hours later to show that, despite the sluggish showing against the Rangers, they did not go into their hibernaculum for the winter just yet. And Claude had made it clear he was looking for results, not rhetoric.

the rest of the way, and won a 4-1 decision that was quite combative at times.

Shawn Thornton and Matt (don’t call me Terry) Carkner had this skirmish in the second period:

…and here’s some closure for the Terry Carkner reference:

It’s good to hear Fred Cusick‘s voice in the above video…I’m sure Fred was calling the Winter Classic from that big play-booth in the sky. Just like Jack Edwards will be the play-by-play man in hell.

The good news from these two games: Blake Wheeler‘s five points (3 G, 2 A). The bad news: Patrice Bergeron is out for 2-3 weeks (fractured thumb, non-displaced) and Andrew Ference is out six weeks (groin). Bergeron’s loss especially hurts, as he was the Bruins leader in points and in presence. Milan Lucic (possible Saturday return against the Rangers)

can’t return fast enough, as the Bruins forwards will need a boost with Bergeron’s loss. Ference’s injury, while unfortunate, will allow young B’s blueliners Johnny Boychuk and Adam McQuaid to get some much-needed ice-time to develop.

Someone will step up to fill the void left by Ference’s zero goals in 42 games.

The Bruins (22-13-7, 51 pts, 5th in Eastern Conference) play their next 2 games against teams that are a combined 15-3-2 in their last 10 games. The Western Conference leading Chicago Blackhawks (30-10-3, 63 pts) make their lone TD Garden visit of the season on Thursday nite. And the New York Rangers (7-1-2 in last 10 games) come to Boston on Saturday for a 1:00 matinee game.

The Bruins ended a four-game losing streak (0-2-2) on Monday, as Tim Thomas was strong in shutting out the Ottawa Senators, 2-0. It was Thomas’ 4th shutout of the season. Marc Savard also ended a six-game pointless streak with an assist on Marco Sturm’s goal. Here are the recaps of the three games since my last entry:

The Chicago 5-4 SO loss featured a late goal by David Krejci that gained the B’s a point, but the Hawks continued their dominance at home (16-4-1 this season). In the Toronto loss, Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid made his NHL debut. Tuukka Rask was back in net, and he was solid but the Bruins just couldn’t finish their chance on this night. The loss aside, the Bruins have been able to keep Maple Leaf Phil Kessel pointless in his three games against his former team. Tempers did flare late in the game, and the last seven or eight minutes ensured that these two teams have developed a genuine dislike for each other. But the Bruins (17-11-7) finally got a win against Brian Elliot (Goalie) and the Senators, and are currently second in the Northeast Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. Sorry for the concise entry this week….Clarence will return to form after the holidays.

Note to Jack Edwards: Enough, ENOUGH ALREADY with the overuse of the “forearm shiver” phrase. It’s tired an meaningless…like you as an announcer.

Note to NESN: Can we get a real Bruins play-by-play person for Christmas?

The Bruins face the Ilya Kovalchuk and the Atlanta Thrashers in about an hour at the TD Garden, with Tim Thomas back in net, then are off until they swing through the sunshine state next Sunday and Monday for games against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

30 Years Ago Today…

It was 30 years ago today that the Bruins went into the stands at Madison Square Garden:

This article was also in today’s NY Times…you may need to sign-up for a FREE account to view:

Ok, their 5-2-1 pre-season record was encouraging. There are, however, still several key questions whose answers will go a long way to determining how much success the Boston Bruins will have this year.

When we last saw meaningful action from the B’s, Carolina’s Scott Walker was steam-rolling the Game 7 OT winner past a dishevelled Tim Thomas. Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward’s left eye socket was still swollen from the sucker punch that Walker had delivered in game 5. For Bruins fans, this game 7 OT goal was like getting maced while your pants were down (I hope that never happens to me again). Ward went unpunished, and in a rather Shakespearean twist, Aaron Ward has since been dealt to Carolina. It was a shocking, painful end to a breakthrough season for this young Bruins team, and one can only hope they are better for the experience. The Hurricanes rolled over like Lassie for the Penguins, getting swept by Pittsburgh in the conference finals. Bruins fans knew that the Black ‘n Gold would have given Pittsburgh a much better fight, which made the game 7 OT loss even more difficult to swallow. But the Bruins didn’t show up for games 2, 3 and 4 of the Carolina series, and ultimately paid the price. Enough about last season…..here are 4 questions whose answers will go along way in determining the fate of the 2009-2010 Boston Bruins:

Thomas played in 54 games in 2008-2009 as he won the Vezina….he will likely play more in 2009-2010 with rookie Tuuka Rask as his backup. We’ll see if Thomas’ 35-year old body can hold to the rigors of another 60(?) start season. A season that also has a 2-week pause for the Olympics, which results in a more compact regular season schedule. If Timmy tires during the season, Rask will be forced into a greater role.

QUESTION 2: Can the Bruins young stars Krejci, Lucic and Wheeler take their games to the next level?

Krejci needs to go from last year’s 73 points to the 90 point range, and Lucic really just needs to keep doing what he’s been doing….scaring the crap out of opponents. The additional space that hard work continues to create for Lucic will allow his (underrated) natural offensive abilities to continue to blossom. Also, continuing to work closely with Cam Neely can’t hurt….it hasn’t so far. Blake Wheeler is the biggest question mark of these three, as he disappeared like the Lindbergh baby in last year’s postseason. He showed some encouraging use of his speed in the Columbus game on Saturday nite, but this kid still has alot of questions marks surrounding him….more questions than a blind man at an orgy.

QUESTION 3: How will the Bruins replace the 36 goals they got last season from Phil Kessel?

Phil Kessel is now in Toronto. Enjoy PATH, Phil. As for picking up the slack, it should come from several sources. Marco Sturm is back and healthy, and combined with the expected upturn in goals from the three players listed in Question 2, that should account for ~40 more goals this season. Also, Patrice Bergeron came on very strong at the end of last year and was arguably their best player in the postseason. I think Rene Rancourt on the point on the power play could help also. Relax, the Bruins had the largest Goals for/Goals against differential last year, also….so we can win a few more 4-2 games that used to be 6-2 wins. Isn’t ‘fan logic’ wonderful?. If all else fails, I know Peter Chiarelli has Keith Crowder on speed dial .

QUESTION 4: Can the team defense sustain its high level of play after the departure of P.J. Axelson and Steve Montador?

I had to have at least one joke question. P.J. Axelson led the way in open net goals last year….and in disappearing for weeks at a time. And Montador handled the puck in the playoffs like Ted Kennedy handled AA pamphlets. Axelson is back in Sweden, and Montador signed as a free agent with Buffalo. Good riddance~

SO LONG, SUCKERS~!

On the NESN front, Jack Edwards still sucks. I watched the Columbus game on Saturday nite, and he had diarrhea of the mouth for over a minute talking about Theo Fleury’s unsuccessful comeback while there was some pretty furious hitting going on in the game at hand. Milan Lucic alone threw about 3 solid hits during a 45-second stretch. Not a word from Jack-off, though. Apparently we care more about the plight of a 41-year-old washed-up non-story from another team than we do about the game that we turned on NESN to see. Please, NESN……Bruins fans are thrilled to see the Black ‘n Gold has risen like Lazarus to become a top-notch team/organization again, and they deserve a broadcast team that isn’t led by someone who is more suited to guest host Wayne’s World. For long time Bruins fans, the recent death of Fred Cusick painfully reminds us what a dreadful job that Jack does game-in and game-out.